Artist of the Month mixes mediums

By: Kyla Rivas - Updated: 1 year ago

Posted Nov 29, 2017

Phil Clark combines his love of photography and stained glass.

Artist of the Month, Phil Clark, debuts his first exhibit at the John Wesley Powell Museum December 1, 2017. Clark will display a stained glass collection inspired by landscapes seen throughout his travels and by a love of Northern Arizona.

“This is my first art show of any kind. I am happy to be asked to be the Artist of the Month.” said Clark.

Clark uses a dual medium of stained glass and photography. His artistic journey began with photography at age 11 when he sent away 3 Honeycomb cereal box tops plus “a little bit of money” and received his first instamatic f126 camera. Clark soon discovered his passion for landscapes. Ever -evolving, his talent grew and the cameras graduated from film to digital.

After working for the Air Force, Clark began a career as a Civil Engineer with the National Park Service (NPS). While working with NPS he was able to photograph firsthand nature’s finest landscapes. When Lakewood, Colorado’s Parks and Recreation Department offered a stained glass course in 2008, Clark decided it was time to explore a new medium.

I’ve loved stained glass my whole life,” said Clark. “I’ve admired stained glass windows in churches or [work] done by other artists. That [class] was all I needed; I was smitten. I bought all my equipment and began doing my own since.”

The transcendence he found from progressing as a photographer eventually found a foothold in stained glass art. Using geometric and abstract designs Clark brought the landscapes to life in the finished glass pieces.

“I blend the two. I take the outline of the landscapes and put it in the glass.” explains Clark about his style. “I just finished one of The Wave.”

His career with NPS led him to Page.

“One day, in 1982, I drove through and I had the best bowl of green chili mutton stew that I’ve ever had in my life at a restaurant that no longer exists,” he said.

Since then he kept returning to the area on and off with NPS when assignments became available.

“I fell in love with this part of the country. With the landscapes, with all of it.” Clark admits.

In 1989, he began a three year job in Page and met his wife Kim. They travelled the country with NPS during a four-month job detail at Glen Canyon in 2015. As a bonus, the job lasted until his retirement in 2017.

Officially a Greenhaven resident, Phil and Kim now call Page home. He is able to commit more time to pursuing things he once called a hobby. Along with his art, Clark remodeled a greenhouse and grows fresh vegetables and spices for Page’s local Farmer’s Market. He also guides private tours of the trails in the area.

Phil Clark’s impressive bio is surrounded by a lifestyle of art. Clark was born in Artesia, NM, however, he calls Taos the hometown of his childhood.

“I only miss the green chili.” he jokes.

Working with the Air Force and transitioning to a career with the NPS as a Civil Engineer his service to the united States totals a combined 34 years. Clark has traveled and lived throughout the U.S. and abroad in several European countries. He is fluent in French and Spanish. To see Clark’s stained glass exhibit visit the Powell Museum at 6 N. Lake Powell Boulevard in Page, Arizona. Everybody is invited to attend the reception at 5-7 p.m.

The exhibit will display for December and January due to winter months are weather permitting attendance. The collection is available for purchase. Clark does private commissions for interested collectors, as well.